“For a smart kid, this hero sure has to repeat a lot of high school…”
Per Variety today we learn a little bit more about the “re-calibration” of Sony Spider-Man’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I use “re-calibration” because I read another article in which a Hollywood exec used that term in regards to a different rebooted project. Reboots, revamps, re-imaginings (my personal favorite) and now “re-calibration.” Six of one, half dozen of another.
From Variety.com:
Sony is going younger with its next Spider-Man.
Now that Andrew Garfield is hanging up the red and blue spandex, Sony Pictures is getting ready to put out a casting call to find its next web slinger. The plan is for the character to go back to high school in the next films, Variety has learned from sources with knowledge of the studio’s plans.
A number of actors already have been mentioned as being considered for the role, including “The Maze Runner” and “Teen Wolf’s” Dylan O’Brien and the “Percy Jackson” franchise’s Logan Lerman. Lerman most recently co-starred in Sony’s “Fury.”
…
Actors have yet to be approached, and sources say Sony is looking to hire a new director to replace “The Amazing Spider-Man” films’ Marc Webb before tapping a new Spidey. The studio also needs to figure out whether it wants to go with another Peter Parker or introduce another character that suits up as Spider-Man, including Miles Morales, whose father is African American and mother is Puerto Rican.
Sony has put the character, played by Tobey Maguire and Garfield, in Midtown High School before, but the plan is to spend more time in the setting and explore his awkward relationship with other students while fighting crime out of the classroom. Midtown is a major setting in the comicbooks, and Peter Parker also returns to the school to become a science teacher in storylines.
Variety also posted an article called ‘Five Ways Sony & Marvel Can Fix Spider-Man,’ which has both good and bad points.
In a nutshell Variety suggests (and I’m paraphrasing through a sarcasm filter):
1.) Get a new star – you know, like Zac Efron.
2.) Get over the origin already.
3.) Ditch Peter Parker for Miles Morales, because Peter Parker is sooo five minutes ago.
4.) Make him an Avenger
5.) Don’t make the tone ‘dark.’
EDIT: Want to add that Variety did not encapsulate those points as above. The snark is all mine.
Do you agree or disagree with Variety? Let us hear from ya, Crawlspacers!
–George Berryman!
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PeterParker’s nerdy high-school friend Max is hazed in a deadly fraternity prank that turns him into Electro, a high-voltage villain that threatens the campus. Only Spider-Man can stop him from exacting his revenge on the students.
@#10 – I haven’t read Kraven’s Last Hunt yet… so I had no idea that it’s a dark Spider-Man story. I guess I’ll have to get the TPB before having an opinion about it.
@#33 – True that.
@#14 George Berryman — I know talked about this on tonight’s special recording, George, but having now seen it for the first time…this is priceless! Game, set, and match!
@#33 tnr105 — LOL, nice! I think you and George are tied for winning the internet. 😉
@33 – LOL!!
3 things happen every four years. The Olympics, the Presidential Election, and a Spider-Man Reboot.
why is Variety and so many other websites saying Marvel needs to decide if they are using Peter or Miles when the original press release from Marvel very clearly says its Peter Parker. not only have they decided it sounds like it was never even in question.
I love how people think Peter shouldn’t be in any more movies because he’s been in 5 already. Does that mean after Avengers 2 people don’t want anymore RDJ as Iron Man? Because Avengers: Age of Ultron will make his fifth film.
We’ve had 5 Spider-man movies over the past 13 years. We’ve had 5 movies with Iron Man in it over the past 7. By the time Captain America: Civil War comes out, we’ll have seen Cap on film 5 times. And that’s just since 2011.
So the “He’s been in 5 movies, enough with Peter Parker” nonsense is stupid.
And Miles is a lame character. How will he be an interesting character on the big screen? Being black seems to be the only thing anyone can ever tell me about Miles that makes him so interesting. Everyone at my local comic shop who loves Miles loves him because of his skin color, and can tell me nothing else about the character that allegedly makes him better than Peter.
Yes, we’ve seen Peter in High School on the big screen before. Well, we’ve also seen Loki trying to become a king before, yet people still want more Loki. We’ve seen the Avengers assemble on the big screen before, people still want more.
Personally, I would have liked them to go with the ideas batted around in those e-mails, about a Spider-man who had been around for a while being the one introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But what can you do? Marvel Studios wants to introduce Spidey the way the comics did. And seeing Peter Parker interacting with Captain America and Iron Man will be fantastic. So why don’t people want to see that?
If Miles is the one they use, all people will talk about is how he’s tearing down racial barriers, nothing else. His movie could be complete crap, but his skin color will mean people expect the movie to be free of any criticism, otherwise those who don’t like the Miles movie will be deemed a racist. You know, like how when Miles first popped up in the Ultimate Universe, anyone who said, “I like Peter better” was immediately labeled a racist. So If they use Miles, I’d rather just stop seeing Marvel movies altogether.
#18. QuilSniv. Everything you said. That’d be perfect. Your points are what I’ve thought, and I love Parker/Danvers. Carol is my second favorite hero after our very own webhead. Though Carol will probably be an adult so…chances are low on that. And with the fact that she is currently romantically linked with War Machine in the comics, if they were going to give her a superhero love interest of any kind, it’d probably be him.
How would you like it if Pather was cast as a white dude? No it would not work, so don’t go making the real spider-man black, plus miles is half black so why not cast a hispanic spider-man
I honestly don’t have a problem with going back to a younger Spider-Man. It is irritating to a degree, but this is his introduction to the MCU and he’ll grow from then on. It’s not like the comics where he already has all this established history where going back to high school would be weird. But it’d be nice to perhaps have him out of it by the end of this movie.
1.) Well, we’re going to be getting someone new no matter what so let’s see. Zac Efron isn’t likely given his age. O’Brien and Lerman both appear solid based on what I’ve looked at the past few days, but we’ll have to see. They definitely need someone who can understand the character and get both sides well along with having a good sense of humor and comedic timing.
2.) Agreed, but put it in the movie in a manner that gets through it quick. I’ve seen Stillanerd and others suggest doing it in the opening credit sequences (Spider-Man 2 did this, though they also summed up the whole first movie as well), but you could always maybe touch on it in a quick matter like a nightmare where Peter quickly flashes through what happened.
3.) No, I do like Miles, but one of the interesting things about him when he started was that he was a successor. I’d be open to them introducing him later on if they want to retire Peter or something, but you’ll likely just confuse any audience member who isn’t familiar with him from the comics.
4.) Maybe? I think I’d prefer if he was more of a reserve member brought in when things are really bad. The Avengers tend to handle stuff all over the world while Spidey pretty much largely watches over New York or at least his area of it. He’ll be the youngest member if he does join, but if they go with the growing up angle with him then it could work as he gets more experienced.
5.) A mixture of light and dark works best, but Spidey’s is a joker so too dark wouldn’t be appropriate. Tailor it to the threat of the movie or have it escalate.
1.) Depending on who they get to play Spidey will need to protray peter better than toby maguire and more comedy than the
2.) For every Reboot they do they will always do an origin
3.) Why would they do an Ultimate Comic in An Amazing Spider-Man world and Peter Parker is Spider-Man So saying he is 5 Mins Ago they wouldnt have a spider-man
4.) He will be in Civil War
5.) a mixture of light and dark would always be good in spider-man but the thing that most spidey’s are missing is the comedy and they almost had it right with Andrew Garfield
I truly hope they get someone who understands how deep and layered a character Peter Parker and spidey are.
@24: Got it. How did I ever survive reading comprehension tests in school? Smh.
@23 – In defense of Variety, the snark was mine on point 3. That’s what it felt like to me, though I admit a bias against the notion that it’s time to throw Peter Parker out with the bath water. The “sooo five minutes ago” thing was me mocking that particular train of that. I’ve edited the original post to reflect that. 🙂
Variety’s point 3 is a piece of obnoxious snark pretending to be a witty remark. It doesn’t make you laugh; it makes you roll your eyes.
One can enjoy Miles in the webs without tearing down Peter. Both characters have appeared in good stories.
@#8: Even with my two comments above, your point 3? QFT.
I personally am not excited for another live action Spidey. If Disney/Marvel ever get the rights back, I’d prefer they’d do an animated films. At least that would be different.
@19 – “Make it a good movie!”
Keeping my fingers crossed but waiting for the disappointing news to eventually trickle out. If 40 years of Spider-fandom has taught me anything, it’s to expect disappointment at some point.
@20 – “Y’know the most terrifying thing? Apparently, going by his twitter, Slott’s been asked to consult on the movies…”
I’d take that with a huge grain of salt. Unless they were consulting him on how to effectively make Peter Parker a background character in his own films. 😎
Y’know the most terrifying thing? Apparently, going by his twitter, Slott’s been asked to consult on the movies…
Mention the origin in the opening credits, much like many
a comics splash page does.
Get someone, new, unknown to this point, and young.
Make it a good movie!
1) Lerman’s actually not a bad choice. Out of all the things the Percy Jackson movies did wrong, one of the few goods was Lerman’s acting. That one guy kept me in my seat. He’d actually make a really good Spidey if he invested in the role.
2) Origin’s been done a bajillion times, Marvel should realize the newcomers have seen it by now, skip!
3) Uh, no. Peter comes first, if they even want to think about inserting Miles or Miguel, otherwise people will have no idea why the hell Spidey’s not in the red-and-blues.
4) I can live with that… s’long as he isn’t reduced to the annoying jokester of the team.
5) Fun and adventureous to start things off, not too campy so that people don’t start begging for refunds; then maybe have something deep hit him, and maybe make him go down the deep and brooding path a la ASM 2 style. Maybe Avengers: Infinity War could have him wear the black suit and that messes with him for SM2 if they make it after Infinity War.
Also, I know it’s a long shot with the widespread Peter/MJ romance, but with Captain Marvel being Carol Danvers (if I’m correct), then the Parker/Danvers romance could end up being a real thing in the MCU. ‘Nuff said.
@14: LMAO, Marvel and Sony both need to see this and get over putting Spidey in highschool
@15 – Precisely. The ability or inability to relate to a character is… well, irrelevant. Good characters are good characters. Kids know this just as well as grown-ups do. When I was 3 years old I didn’t connect to Spider-Man because he was young; Hell, he was in college when I was 3 and to a 3 year old that’s grown-up. No I connected to him as a 3 year old because he looked badass and did badass things.
Good thing all the characters represented in George’s post are still high school students, so that young readers will be able to relate to them. If they were actually adults I’m sure that kids would have no interest in them at all.
@13 – Because it’s way too hard to relate to a college-age character struggling with money. 😎 And because Disney Marvel desperately needs to find a way to connect with younger audiences – something they’re clearly struggling with as the images below prove.
LMAO, I love the subtitle
“For a smart kid, this hero sure has to repeat a lot of high school…”
What is wrong with taking Spider-Man to college? At least in the first Raimi film they made Peter graduate Highschool before the first full appearance of Spider-Man.
Oh great, as I expected Marvel are shoving Spider-Man back into High School, my hopes for Kravens Last Hunt and adult Spider-Man movie plans have been tarnished! Great thanks a lot Sony, you guys should have listened to Jeff’s ideas off an older Peter Parker but no they instead go to the Company who is currently ruining him A.K.A. Marvel. Why are these guys obsessed with the High School shit? How many more movies do we need off that idiotic 15 year old kid complaining about how his life sucks, how he can’t M.J. or Gwen and the fact that he can’t do homework! Just you wait 616 Peter Parker is next to de-age, the character I knew and loved is being wiped away, instead they are giving all the great characteristics of Peter Parker in a 15 year old body, he’s going to be incredibly intelligent and get the girl he dreams off isn’t he? And then when the time comes for Peter to age Marvel are going to do a crappy job with him aren’t they, it’s just going to be like Brand New Day all over again, fleeting from apartment to apartment, can’t get a date, Peter continuously banging a lot of chicks and worst shouting off all he would be shouting out every five seconds “DARN THAT PARKER LUCK!”.
RIP Spider-Man 1963-2014.
1) That depends. I honestly can’t think of anyone offhand that would be the perfect Spidey.
2) I think we can pretty much all agree on that. We’ve already seen the origin twice now, after all…I think we get it by now.
3) Aw, HELL NO! Whoever suggested this has absolutely no idea who Spider-Man really is. If it isn’t Peter Parker, count me out.
4) Agreed, although a cameo would be welcome…as long as he can hold his own, and doesn’t rely on them to hold his hand, like in today’s comics.
5) For the first film, no. We definitely need a good, fun Spider-Man movie to start it off with. Maybe a darker one down the line would be OK though, like Kraven’s Last Hunt.
If you are saying Peter Parker is cliche and five minutes ago you need to shut the Hell up because a character isn’t a fashion choice. Peter Parker is Spider-Man. It’s not a legacy spot. I like Miles, I might even want to see him in a movie. People who are bored with Peter might as well say they want someone other than Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne to be Superman, at which point GTFO because you’re just not interested in Spider-Man then.
@#8-Riegn wasn’t bad because it was dark, it was bad because it was depressing and gross. Kraven’s Last Hunt was dark too and it was awesome
Midtown is sooooo important that he graduated there in issue 28 and how many issues out of 700+ did he teach there for? Maybe 25 if you count the other titles? Yeah, let’s spend several movies at that location.
1) A new star? Okay, let’s see who they pick…
2) Yup. No more retelling of the origin.
3) No way! Peter Parker is THE Spider-Man, no one could replace him as Spidey.
4) Nope.
5) Yes. Dark Spider-Man is a bad idea to begin with. (After reading the Spider-Man: Reign miniseries I despise the idea of Spider-Man in a dark setting)
I just don’t understand why they have to keep peter in high school
Or make him get replaced permanently by an alternate version.
If mythological heroes could endure for centuries, what does it say
When our modern myth makers can no longer make them last five
Minutes without screwing them up?
And what about when Logan lehrman gets older? If they wan him
To be in high school in cap 3 & his first solo film, fine.
After that he’d Better be at NYU at least.
Not surprising. The idea at marvel right now is that Spider-Man should be as young as possible and that’s how it’s been for ages. On the comics side, I have a funny feeling the apparently-not-a-reboot event coming up will eventually bring about a high school Spidey in that world too.
I don’t know if we’re ever going to get an adult spider-man again. The days when any kind of depth or maturity was a concern for this character are growing more and more distant.
Hopefully the movies will be of good quality. Marvel Studios certainly has a great track record so I’ll tentatively trust them. High school spidey is not bad by a long shot — the Spectacular cartoon did it perfectly and was wonderful. If the movies can be like a live action version of that, I will be 100% behind them. But I still wish there was a promise of seeing Peter grow up in them, and that just doesn’t seem to be on the table.
Zac’s an excellent actor.
No Miles……..the press release says Peter Parker,so why we even talking about it?
Again with highschool. What is Marvels obsession with keeping Spider-man in high school
Marvel.com said that it would be Peter Parker, in their inkwell initial announcement I think, and Logan Lerman would be a good Peter Parker. He was so good in “Perks of being a Wallflower”
Whoever wrote the “improvements” column has no clue. Andrew Garfield is too old, but let’s suggest Zac Efron??
1.) We’ll see who they pick
2.) Agree
3.) Disagree
4.) Disagree
5.) Don’t make the tone permanent
This deal is not looking good. The writing in the movies might be better but having Spider-man Jr sucks.